Harrison Ford is in talks to star in a new adaptation of Call of the Wild. Ford has been keeping quite busy in recent years, having revisited some of his most iconic roles as Han Solo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Rick Deckard in Blade Runner 2049 just last year. Now though, he's taking on a new challenge as he'll be the lead of what sounds like a prestigious project being set up by 20th Century Fox.
Call of the Wild was written by the legendary Jack London and was originally released in 1903. Should Harrison Ford close his deal to star, he'll play John Thornton, a prospector hoping to find gold during the Klondike gold rush of the 1890s. The role of Thornton was previously played by the likes of Clark Gable in the 1935 movie and once again by Charlton Heston in 1972. So Ford would be in some very good company. In case you aren't familiar, or just need a little refresher, here's a synopsis of London's book.
"Part St. Bernard, part Scotch shepherd, Buck is a sturdy crossbreed canine accustomed to a comfortable life as a family dog, until he's seized from his pampered surroundings and shipped to Alaska to be a sled dog. There, the forbidding landscape is as harsh as life itself during the gold rush of the 1890s. Forced to function in a climate where every day is a savage struggle for survival, Buck adapts quickly. Traces of his earlier existence are obliterated and he reverts to his dormant primeval instincts, encountering danger and adventure as he becomes the leader of a wolf pack and undertakes a journey of nearly mythical proportions. Superb details, taken from Jack London's firsthand knowledge of Alaskan frontier life, make this classic tale of endurance as gripping today as it was over a century ago. One of literature's most popular and exciting adventure stories, The Call of the Wild will enrich the reading experience of youngsters, and rekindle fond memories of a favorite among older generations."The Croods director Chris Sanders has been tapped to helm the movie, with a script from Michael Green, who penned Logan. Production is set to start in September, which means this has been being put together somewhat quietly behind the scenes, with Harrison Ford being one of the last pieces of the puzzle. Technoprops, a special effects studio that was purchased by Fox in 2017, will be heavily involved in the movie, meaning that they will probably be doing a lot of the "wild" stuff digitally.
Indiana Jones 5 was gearing up to begin filming in April 2019, which meant Harrison Ford was going to be busy giving it one last go as another one of his most famous characters. However, production was recently delayed. Solo writer Jonathan Kasdan is giving the script a rewrite and production has been delayed by a year. Disney recently moved the released date from July 2020 to July 2021. Steven Spielberg will direct West Side Story in the meantime, while Ford tackles Call of the Wild.
Steve Asbell will oversee the production for Fox., with Erwin Stoff producing and Diana Pokorny executive producing. Fox has yet to set a release date for Call of the Wild, but it sounds like this could easily be ready for a late 2019 release. This news comes to us courtesy of Variety.
